Short Friendship Song

Good friends sometimes leave the bounds of Middle Earth. Those of us who are left keep hoping for their return. Here is a small song about that.

This is one of the first in-game songs I wrote, way back in the day when many of the first hobbit roleplayers on Laurelin started leaving the game. Sadly, it has never ceased being relevant, and none more so than today. So if yer bear with me, first a few words about communication between LOTRO players.

On communication matters

It always saddens me when in-game friends stop playing LOTRO. Even more so when the reasons cited is the snarky pettiness they sometimes run into when dealing with other members of the LOTRO community.

Communication between players who never meet beyond in-game text and forum discussions is hard at best. It is easy to interpret remarks made by others as being more important/mean/cynical/hostile than intended, if you can’t see the disarming twinkle in the eye of the other person. If you come from different cultural or language backgrounds. If you don’t share the same norms and values.

This goes both ways in any discussion. My general advice is to never attribute to malice what can be explained by someone trying to think up an answer on the spot, writing in a non-native tongue, not being privy to all the information you have yourself, perhaps even discussing a different problem than the one you are concerned with. Misunderstandings are bound to happen.

That being said, it is just heartbreaking when players feel that their motives are called into question, that their actions are interpreted in the worst way possible, just by putting in a lot of effort to help solve a particular problem with the game. Lately, there has been enough petty ugliness in the LOTRO community to trigger such feelings. Enough to make players want to leave.

To those who have had enough: Yer have me sympathies and heartfelt gratitude for yer efforts over the years. While I can understand the frustrations and the desire to get away from it all, I will always hope yer reconsider and stay with us. Know that there will always be a song and a plate of warm biscuits over here if yer do.

On the song

This is best sung to Sweet Afton, a poem by Robert Burns. There has been many grand versions of the song performed by musicians over the years. Here are a couple

Jo Stafford – Flow Gently Sweet Afton

Nickel Creek – Flow Gently Sweet Afton

The melody line I followed when writing the words below follows the Jo Stafford version pretty closely. Although, I really like the Nickel Creek version as well.

Short Friendship Song

The year nears its end, so I sit back and sigh
When thinking of old friends no longer nearby
The dear ones who left us to go out of bounds
You long for their voices but can’t hear a sound
You hope that someday they’ll return to our fold
With stories that tell us of silver and gold
But what most of all you can hope for tonight
Is joyful good memories of past times so bright

Well into the new year, the daylight returns
The land slowly wakes from its slumbering turn
The days get much warmer when we enter spring
And soon comes the day when the birds start to sing
They sing of old friends who’ll return to our fold
With stories that tell us of silver and gold
And we can all hope that they come here tonight
With joyful good memories and laughters so bright

Lotho Sackville-Baggins is buying up land and properties all over the Shire. We can’t let that happen! Imagine a Sackville-Baggins owning half the Shire? No telling what kind of ruffians he’d invite to these lands....